False advertising and experience goods: the case of political services in the U.S. senate

Abstract

Political advertising, Legislator behavior, Campaign fundraising,

Is Political Ideology Stable? Evidence from Long-Serving Members of the United States Congress

“…Among these, it extends seminal studies wherein economists examine the economics of information and its links to advertising, search and signaling (Stigler 1961;Darby and Karni 1973;Spence 1973;Nelson 1970Nelson , 1974. According to this foundational work, and the empirical studies that have emerged since, the quantity, quality and form of advertising and information provision are functions of goods (and buyer) characteristics, as well as relative prices (Ekelund et al 1995;Mixon et al 2009). 21 Nelson (197021 Nelson ( , 1974 first suggested an analytical classification of goods with search and experience characteristics, wherein search (experience) goods are those for which judgments about the goods' attributes can (cannot) be made (at low cost) prior to purchase.…”

“…22 Darby and Karni (1973) suggest a third classification of goods-credence goods-for which judgments about the good's attributes are prohibitively costly even after purchase. 23 For examples of prior empirical work on this topic, see Crain and Goff (1988), , Upadhyaya (2002, 2003), Mixon et al (2003a), Mixon et al (2003b) and Mixon et al (2009). 24 Boudreaux (1996, pp.…”

“…If ideology misalignment is indeed occurring, then further exploration into the type of echo chamber that a legislative body constitutes may point toward secondary constituencies that influence the political ideologies of elected officials. This line of inquiry could follow Mixon et al (2009) by examining the role of campaign contributions plays in the importance of positioning along the traditional unidimensional policy space discussed in the public choice literature.…”

Public Choice

“…Among these, it extends seminal studies wherein economists examine the economics of information and its links to advertising, search and signaling (Stigler 1961;Darby and Karni 1973;Spence 1973;Nelson 1970Nelson , 1974. According to this foundational work, and the empirical studies that have emerged since, the quantity, quality and form of advertising and information provision are functions of goods (and buyer) characteristics, as well as relative prices (Ekelund et al 1995;Mixon et al 2009). 21 Nelson (1970Nelson ( , 1974 first suggested an analytical classification of goods with search and experience characteristics, wherein search (experience) goods are those for which judgments about the goods' attributes can (cannot) be made (at low cost) prior to purchase.…”

“…If ideology misalignment is indeed occurring, then further exploration into the type of echo chamber that a legislative body constitutes may point toward secondary constituencies that influence the political ideologies of elected officials. This line of inquiry could follow Mixon et al (2009) by examining the role of campaign contributions plays in the importance of positioning along the traditional unidimensional policy space discussed in the public choice literature. Wittman, Donald.…”